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Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. Mystery. HTML:A breathtaking, enchanting new series by debut author Jessica Townsend, about a cursed girl who escapes death and finds herself in a magical world�??but is then tested beyond her wildest imagination. Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she's blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks�??and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday. But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor. It's then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city's most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each with an extraordinary talent that sets them apart�??an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests�??or she'll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate. Perfect for fans of the Harry Potter series and Neil Gaiman, this fast-paced plot and imaginative world has a fresh new take on magic that will appeal to a new generation of readers. "A Harry Potter-esque adventure." �?? Tim… (more)
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Like a Dahl-ian
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Morrigan Crow is a cursed child; she is on the Register of Cursed Children because she is due to die on the night of her eleventh birthday, at midnight on Eventide. Of course, as a cursed child, everyone else's misfortunes are her fault, too - like the time Pip
'A local man, Thomas Bratchett, died of a heart attack recently. He was -'
'Our gardener, I know,' Corvus interrupted. 'Terrible shame. The hydrangeas have suffered. Morrigan, what did you do to the old man?'
'Nothing.'
Corvus looked sceptical. 'Nothing? Nothing at all?'
She thought for a moment. 'I told him the flowerbeds looked nice.'
'When?'
'About a year ago.'
Corvus and the caseworker exchanged a look. The woman sighed quietly. 'His family is being extremely generous in the matter. They ask only that you pay his funeral expenses, put his grandchildren through university and make a donation to his favourite charity.'
Townsend's humour shows through here, and I like Morrigan's feisty personality and the letters she writes (but doesn't, of course, send).
Dear Mrs Malouf,
I'm sorry you thought it was a good idea to go ice-skating even though you're a million years old and have brittle bones that could snap in a light breeze.
I'm sorry I broke your hip. I didn't mean to. I hope you are recovering quickly. Please accept my apologies and get well soon.
Yours sincerely,
Miss Morrigan Crow
However, she still goes to Bid Day where hopeful children who are turning eleven go to see if they will be offered a chance to interview for an apprenticeship; but who is going to bother offering even one bid on a child about to die who brings misfortune with her? To everyone's surprise, Morrigan beats the record and is offered four bids!
Jupiter North (who reminds me of a sort of Santa Claus - large and jolly) finds a loophole in Morrigan's curse and whisks her away to the safety of the Free State of Nevermoor in the teeth of the Hunt of Smoke and Shadow which comes for her. There he installs her in his Hotel Deucalion with its wonderful residents like Frank the overly dramatic
'Only dwarf vampire in Nevermoor, you know' ... 'Not very popular in the dwarf community or the vampire community, sadly, mostly on account of -'
'Vampire dwarf,' Frank corrected him from the other side of the room. 'There is a difference, you know. You might think about getting some sensitivity training if you're going to run a hotel.'
'- mostly on account of his moodiness, I expect. Imagine being too moody for other vampires.'
and enters her in the trials for the Wundrous Society which only takes in nine candidates every year. Morrigan absolutely has to be one of those nine so she can stay in Nevermoor and avoid her fate at the hands of the Hunt. But she doesn't know what her talent is, which she has to demonstrate at the Show Trial to be able to get in. Jupiter assures her she has one ... but somehow seems to keep avoiding telling her what it is.
Fun. Also funny in places. I can see Townsend's Australian roots occasionally; for instance in 'Nunya', the name of the town that Morrigan claims to be from.
4.5 stars
This one was fabulous. Such amazing world-building, with characters who are just as fantastic, and edge-of-seat plot twists for good measure. I can't wait for the next one!
I knew I would like this book. Other readers whose opinions I trust recommended it to me. Reviews and summaries and blurbs all appealed to me. I carried it with me on at least two vacations, but never started it. Had it been overhyped? Would it prove a disappointment?
Reader, it did not disappoint. I loved it: the whole mad, creative world of Nevermoor and the Hotel Deucalion in particular, prickly Morrigan and her happy-go-lucky pal Hawthorne, the trials, the plot twists, the hilariously funny lines throw in here and there — oh, just everything! It’s not entirely like Harry Potter, but I would recommend this to readers who enjoy Harry Potter — and I know that’s a dangerous comparison to make. You may have noticed that I don’t make it often.
Also? Jupiter North. He’s infuriating. I think I love him.
Well I'm not really sure about this book. The reviews I read gave it high marks but it fell well below my expectations.
Morrigan Crow is a "cursed" child, one of the few that will die on their 11th birthday of Eventide Night; but something happens instead. Morrigan is taken out in public w/ her
Morrigan receives 4 bids, even though she has been removed from school & hidden away. Before she can sign the bidding contract the bidder disappears and Morrigan is back home for her birthday & last meal. As usual her family treats her abominably, especially her step-mother who announces she is pregnant with a child to replace Morrigan, Morrigan's grandmother defends Morrigan for a change and as it starts to turn into a problem, there is a knock on the door....
In comes Jupiter North, who had also sent a bid to Morrigan (which she signed & burned) and he has now come to collect Morrigan. Jupiter gives instructions to the family for the funeral and takes Morrigan away to Nevermoore.
In Nevermoor, there are many other special children, all who will compete to join the Wunderous Society of Nevermoor, but first they must compete in a series of trials designed to reveal each entrant's true self & potential.
Does this seem like too much? It rather was.... Too many people compare this favorably to Harry Potter, but seriously there are better Fantasy books to read.
Morrigan: I really didn't warm to her as I found her low-self esteem from being subjugated and treated badly by family & community (many of who lied about her) depressing. She didn't trust her strength, she tended to be a bit slow on the uptake, and, well, I just can't quite put my finger on it.
With the exception of Morrigan's best friend, Hawthorn, an 11 year-old Dragon Rider; I sadly found that I didn't really like any of the other characters as they were not particularly nice people. In fact, too many we downright rude & nasty-mean!
*Really, how would anyone say no to a new room with no fuss because it hasn't been lived in yet; but over the days you stay there, it (a bit sentient) changes until it's right for you.
*I want to live in the Hotel Deucalion.
Morrigan is a cursed child, shunned by her family and doomed to die on midnight of the next Eventide (her eleventh birthday). However during bid-day she unexpectedly recieves a number of bids (offers of apprenticeship) from various patrons despite her impending death. Thinking they are jokes she ignores them until Jupiter North from the Wundrous Society shows up and sweeps her away to Nevermoor to become his apprentice. Morrigan must compete with hundreds of other Nevermoor children to get a place in the prestigious Wundrous Society...or return to her death.
A lot of this book reminded me heavily of Harry Potter. The cursed child, Jupiter as her knowledgeable mentor, the evil villain, etc. It is a bit more over the top and at times approaches pure silliness. There were parts that made me roll my eyes at the craziness.
I really enjoyed the beginning of the book, but didn’t enjoy the story as much after we get to Nevermoor. I never engaged with the characters or the world and thought things were described in a way that was hard to picture and confusing.
However, the above being said….this is a very magical story full of silly magical wonder that kids may relate to better than I did.
Overall this was a good book, very magical and full of action. However, I thought it was over-the-top silly at times and had trouble engaging in the story. I think this is a book kids will enjoy more than adults and don’t plan on continuing the series.
Morrigan was born on Eventide, which means that she is as unlucky as you can get. Everything is blamed on her. If someone trips, she is blamed even if she wasn’t in the vicinity. If someone has a heart attack, it’s her
Morrigan’s life changes drastically. She is allowed to attend Bid Day with her father. Breaking all records, there are several bids for Morrigan. Everyone is quite angry. She was born on Eventide. Who is rigging the bid? No one would want her! To make matters worse, the year changes earlier than expected and Morrigan will now die tonight. What? Life isn’t fair. Suddenly, Jupiter North, one of the people who bid on Morrigan, shows up as do black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback. Her horrible family (don’t get me started) can’t even see what’s going on. Morrigan enters a different world where she must compete in four different trials--that Jupiter doesn’t seem to want to explain. If she passes them, she’ll be admitted into the Wundrous Society. These trials are almost impossible to prepare for and she’s up against stiff competition. There are also secrets--secrets about Morrigan that Jupiter won’t tell her. What’s truly going on?
This novel is cute and is great for people who like fun fantasy. It’s perfectly middle school appropriate.
For me, I felt the author 'borrowed' a lot of elements from
Definitely worth a read and I'll be eagerly awaiting the next installment!
I want back into the wunder (look of longing with the reaching out with a hand to get
I wanted to join in a few of the activities, whether it watching the centaur roller derby, floating down several stories with an umbrella or simply ride in a mechanical spider.
Comparisons to Harry Potter are inevitable with this book and Morrigan Crow stands her ground well. She's a charming character with several rough edges that make her feel real, the characters that surround her are delightful (I may have a bit of a crush on Jupiter North), and the magical world of Nevermoor is well-designed. I loved the Hotel Deucalion and I like to imagine what kind of room it would craft for me. Townsend also adds a healthy dose of humour to her well-paced narrative and the pages fly by. My only quibble is that Morrigan feels older than eleven in her internal thoughts and her emotional reactions, although a case could be made that her upbringing has made her more emotionally mature than one might expect at eleven. That small issue aside, I utterly enjoyed every second of this novel and eagerly look forward to picking up the next book in the series.
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813.6 |